All posts by Donna Mitchell

Opening Another Location

We are excited to announce that we will opening a new comedy club in the midwest. Oklahoma City is the new destination for one of our standup clubs. We will be inviting locals in during the week to showcase their comedic talents and inspire the crowd to engage in spontaneous standup routines. But before we do we must remodel the run down club. We will be hiring some local contractors to help with the renovations, that will include new drywall, flooring, lighting, seating, stage, PA system, bar, kitchen, painting, and decor. Yes, we will be doing a complete overhaul to the comedy club.

New Lighting Features

The club was previously a night club, we will be adding a unique lighting feature that will add an elegant touch to a modern design. Local lighting contractors Andrews Lighting will be providing the new center piece.

PA System

We have already ordered a new PA system from Sweetwater that will include sub wolfers, PA speakers, mixing board, and multiple wireless microphones. We will also be purchasing a recording module to capture the audio in HD.

Hardwood Flooring in Auditorium

The removal of carpet, and addition of hardwood flooring will add an elegant touch to the new club. The hardwood flooring will also give the sound a natural reverb effect, adding to the experience, and making the room sound bigger than it is. We contracted Fireant Flooring in Oklahoma City for the installation and finishing of the new floors.

New Seating Arrangement

The previous layout catered to an open seating plan, where most people opted to stand and dance. This was an issue for us since we were in need of a concert seating style layout. We purchased 100 new chairs from SpecSeats.com.

New Gourmet Kitchen

The new kitchen will be installed by the guys at Oswalt. We will be furnishing the kitchen with new Wolf appliances, copper pots, and new gas lines for energy efficient cooking and catering. We will also be renting the open space for private events and corporate parties.

This year’s National Jazz Awards feature the guitar, with the 10 finalists now announced, due to compete in Wangaratta in November.

2014 has been named the year of the guitar as Wangaratta gears up to host the National Jazz Awards at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues. Ten finalists have been announced, and of that ten, three will head into the finals on Sunday the 2nd of November. ABC Jazz and Classic FM will be broadcasting the perfomances of the final three from 5pm on November the 2nd, so don’t forget to tune in. And, if you’re around-and-about at the festival, don’t forget to check out the semi-finals, which are held around town in the lead-up to final three.

We say farewell to Jazz pianist, bandleader and composer Horace Silver, who has passed away at the age of 85 at his home in New York.

Horace Silver is best known for his enduring compositions, many becoming standards of the jazz vocabulary, such as ‘Peace’, ‘Song For My Father’, ‘Sister Sadie’ and ‘Nica’s Dream’.

Silver also co-founded ‘The Jazz Messengers’ alongside drummer Art Blakey, and was known as a bandleader that fostered some of the up and coming soloists in jazz, names such as Hank Mobley, Blue Mitchell, Louis Hayes and Joe Henderson.

Horace Silver died on June 18, 2014 in his home in New Rochelle, New York, aged 85.

One of Australia’s clearest jazz voices has passed away at the age of 76. The legendary saxophonist died following recent heart surgery.

Hear a Bernie McGann obituary from ABC News Radio here.

McGann was a pioneering figure in the Australian jazz scene, mixing it with the most groundbreaking musicians and bands, such as Roger Frampton, John Pochee, Judy Bailey, Ken James, Sandy Evans, ‘The Last Straw’ and ‘Ten Part Invention’ as well as his own trios and quartets. Bernie also supported touring US musicians during his career, including Freddie Hubbard, Dewey Redman, Sonny Stitt and Dave Liebman.

In the final edition of the present series of Jazz Library, Alyn Shipton presents archive interviews with Kenny Baker, Vic Lewis, Coleridge Goode and Annie Ross in which they select some highlights of British jazz records from the 1930s to the 1960s, from Chicagoan-style Dixieland to free jazz.

Alan Skidmore is a legendary figure in British jazz and one of its truly individual saxophone voices. To celebrate his imminent 70th birthday, he joins Alyn Shipton to select some of his finest recordings, ranging from work with John Mayall and Eric Clapton to the experimental bands SOS and SOH. He also discusses his work with African musicians and his lifelong love for the music of John Coltrane.

Darcy James Argue came to Penn State to perform Brooklyn Babylon, so I invited him on my morning show along with two of his collaborators. Here’s the interview in its entirety. Does this mean The Jazz Session is coming back? Perhaps.

Bassist Chris Lightcap released the album Epicenter in 2015 with his band Bigmouth. In this interview, Lightcap talks about the past, present and future of Bigmouth; his many other projects; why New York City has been such a big influence on his writing; and why it sometimes takes him years to really listen thoroughly to an album he likes. Learn more at http://chrislightcap.com.

SUPPORT THE SHOW! The Jazz Session is member supported. Become a member today for just $5 a month. Your contribution of $5 a month helps me keep the hundreds of shows in the archive accessible and free for all. You can also support the show by starting your Amazon shopping at http://thejazzsession.com/amazon. Everything you buy helps the show at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Pianist and vocalist Brenda Earle Stokes’ most recent album is 2014’s Right About Now. In this interview, she talks about her days playing pop songs on cruise ships; how her producer helped shaped the sound and the band on her most recent album; and how marriage and motherhood have changed her career as a musician. Learn more at brendaearle.com.

SUPPORT THE SHOW! The Jazz Session is member supported. Become a member today for just $5 a month. Your contribution of $5 a month helps me keep the hundreds of shows in the archive accessible and free for all. You can also support the show by starting your Amazon shopping at http://thejazzsession.com/amazon. Everything you buy helps the show at no additional cost to you. Thank you!